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Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Hardly finished post
I promised Haal and Mohamed an extended post on religion and my approach to it. I did promise it in a more fruitful period of my life in what reading is concerned. I am planning to take this seriously, as I changed my mind about what to write about. I was going to write a quite general essay, but after seeing the comments on Haal’s blog, I decided I couldn’t say it all in one rant. So it will take longer

Little note to myself:
Books I really need to reed:
The Bible
The Qur’an
The Sunnah
Eliade’s History of Indian Philosophy

Books I really need to finish:
Eliade’s History of Religious Ideas

So mainly this post will be about some thoughts that accidentally crossed my mind concerning this subject, ideas which will be elaborated later on.

“In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful”

This quote caught me eye the moment I saw it. “The Compassionate, the Merciful”, this reminded me of how Christians describe God.

I noticed we do expect God to be merciful, although we fear his punishment. Is it because we know we deserve it? Is it because the idea of an almighty being leads to the idea of an almighty punishment that no one has any control over it?

If God is Compassionate and Merciful, no matter how we chose to call him, how come Muslims, Christians and Jews believe their way is the only way to heaven? Would this merciful God we praise really doom someone merely because he was born in the wrong culture?

I think religion is not always a matter of individual choice. If you are born in a certain country that has a certain culture and a certain religion (I mean the religion practiced be the majority), the chances of changing that religion when you grow up are quite a few. If you are brought up within one religion, you get to thinking no other belief could suit you better. You inherit the representation of God your family has and whenever you compare it with other representations you tend to feel, not necessarily to think, but to feel they are wrong, or better said unnatural in a way.

So, the perfect believer, no matter the religion, who does everything the right way, will be doomed because he just happened to choose the wrong way to approach God…Something about this feels quite wrong…

Will develop later, I promise…
posted by Alina @ 11:21 AM  
27 Comments:
  • At 6/08/2005 12:13 PM, Blogger doshar said…

    hello kayla, i like your open mindedness

    what you just said has passed through my mind alot believe me
    i wish to elaborate with you if you would let me. i am a moslem girl, from egypt and would love to clarify anything that i can for you to help you out


    the stuff about the culture and the difficulties:

    when i get really frustrated with the thinking i say to myself God is fair, that i am sure of if so many other things in life i am not

    so i know God will not be unjust withanyone
    can i give you some examples from our religion?

    everyone is judged according to their deeds and also circumstances. GOd is fair. do you know for example that the punishment someone having sex in sin is less for those who are not married?
    the married have a more severe punishment because their physical needs are met. the unmarried will be weaker

    the punishment for stealing in islam is cutting off your hand, but in a certain year in days of the sa7aba (close followers of prophet mohamed) PBUH this puishment was not applied because of the draught and severe conditions

    also, our prophet has told us that there will come a time (i think it is close now) when a person who justs keeps on his faith has the reward of a martyr (i thnk) because the situation is very difficult in comparison to older times when it was easier

    these are just examples, very few, because i am not a scholar but just to show that God is fair

    about the culture thing, i agree it may be difficult, but God has given us the true way in our hearts when he first created adam. each person has the instinct of loving God inside him

    when the truth comes we will know it

    of course God has given us all ears and eyes and brains, so we will definitely be asked at least why didn't we look or wonder or read about religion, especially that now with the net and everything it is easier to learn and communicate. we can not rely on the culture now only because we have means to be exposed to other cultures.

    we are given a brain so we are going to be asked why we didn't use it, like we are going to be asked about everything that has been given to us, what did we do with it. i admire that you are doing that right now.

    i am going on and on i know, but i feel you are genuinely interested and want to know. i wish i can help you with any questions you have about islam, plz feel free to ask anything.

    if i feel i know i will say so, if not i will say so. as i said i am not a scholar, just a moslem who wants to do what she can for her religion and whoever else i can help if i can.

     
  • At 6/08/2005 12:29 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I didnt get the example of cutting the had or having sex? What do you mean? Didnt get the point of 'what this proves'?

     
  • At 6/08/2005 12:33 PM, Blogger Alina said…

    Doshar, I know God is fair, He has shown it to me in many ways…

    About the reading and using your brain thing – I’ve been doing that lately, trust me, and it proved itself a lot harder and painful then expected.

    Questions, I have dozens! My first question is this: I know Jesus is mentioned in your religion, with a different name and as a prophet, not the son of God. Would you please briefly tell me Jesus’ story according to your belief?

    Thanx for all the help, Doshar!

     
  • At 6/08/2005 12:35 PM, Blogger Alina said…

    The point was about considering certain circumstances when making a judgement. The same deed is more or less to blame given the circumstances which led to it. Or at least this is how I understood the examples.

     
  • At 6/08/2005 2:05 PM, Blogger doshar said…

    dear kayla,

    wow, the story of jesus?!! well it is a great place to start, it is a long story, i will try to email it to you, because it is reallyy long and detailed, but in short terms:

    jesus is a prophet and messenger of God,we all believe in him, he is a human not a God. he is of a very high status, he has many miracles. one of his miracles being born to a virgin mother "mariam". in quran, God compared jesus's creation to adam's, where Adam had no mother or father. God has the ability to create whatever He wants, and God repeatedly in the Quran speaks of himself as one and only and has no partner, no son, no wife.

    Jesus delivered the word of Allah which is the Bible. the bible is a book of God we believe in that. the problem is that there are several versions of the bible because it was passed on by the disciples, and so there are some differences.

    also, the quran tells us that Jesus has foretold about prophet mohamed's coming saying that a messenger will come after me called Ahmad (same meaning as mohamed) which means "very thankful".

    anyway, this part was changed or removed in most versions of the bible later except i think one called "ibn bernaba". i am sorry , i am not sure about the bible version, but i know it is very rare to find now.

    i will email you ISA (means GOd willing) the story in detail when i get it in detail from the quran.

    if you have an english version of the quran, you will find alot of rference to Jesus, especially there is a soora (chapter) called "mariam".

    i wanted to ask you a question plz? do christians believe that mohamed is a prophet and messenger of God or not?

     
  • At 6/08/2005 2:06 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Aha, ok. thanks, Kayla.

     
  • At 6/08/2005 2:13 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    'Jesus delivered the word of Allah which is the Bible. the bible is a book of God we believe in that. the problem is that there are several versions of the bible because it was passed on by the disciples, and so there are some differences.'
    I think this is an inaccurate statment. You muslims dont believe in the bible we have. You describe in as 'forged'. As far as I have been taught, Christ didn't deliver the bible--he was 'a walking bible', 'the word of god' that was unwritten. Correct me if I am wrong.

     
  • At 6/08/2005 2:40 PM, Blogger Alina said…

    Dohsar, the Bible does not mention anything about Mohamed, the version accepted at the moment I mean.

    But you and my anonymous reader have to understand something about how the New Testament (the part about the life of Jesus) was put together: it was a selection.

    High priests gathered, discussed all the writings (about 50) and selected from them what they wanted. The rest of the writings were dismissed and the Church (Catholic, Orthodox, and any other Christian church) rejects their accuracy.

    This is where all the problems start. According to recent research, only 5% of what is considered to have been said by Jesus was actually stated by him. Moreover, there are voices stating none of the versions about Jesus was true – the Christian or the Muslim. A book called the Templar Revelation (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684848910/102-7527624-1213739?v=glance), written by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince states that Jesus was actually initiated in the Isis-Osiris mysteries and other mysteries related to the Ancient Egypt.

    This book is what really started my quest in what religion is concerned. It is very well documented and it has a lot of experts on the Bible explaining things about Jesus’ life and his alleged marriage or relationship with Mary Magdalene. Thus, it explains the Black Virgin statues cult and other Christian mysteries that we don’t really take into consideration.

    So, I decided I should learn more about religion in general, all there is to know, to get a clear view on the subject.

     
  • At 6/08/2005 4:29 PM, Blogger Alina said…

    NO, DON'T WATCH ANYTHING!!! You have a final paper to do by Friday. You'll have plenty of time for this conversation after your exams! The post and its comments are not going anywhere...

     
  • At 6/08/2005 5:15 PM, Blogger Alina said…

    Anonymous, Muslims are not the only one who consider the Bible forged. Jews have the same opinion and lots of European experts share the thought.
    As for the delivering the word of God part, the verses in the Bible "re-tell" the words of Jesus, His prayers, like "Our Father", His fables, in a word His teachings.

     
  • At 6/08/2005 5:16 PM, Blogger Alina said…

    the only ones actually...

     
  • At 6/09/2005 12:18 AM, Blogger doshar said…

    Hey Kayla, I have decided to tell you the story of Jesus as we know it on your blog not email. Actually I was quite stuck in deciding the source to give it to you from in a way that is simple and nice.

    I have a very nice source that I really like because it is by someone ( a da3eya, which is a Moslem preacher) whom I trust and really enjoy his methods. This does not mean that the story differs from one source to the other, they are all the same, it is just the manner of narration that differs.

    Anyway, to make it right, I think I should tell the whole story of Al Omran. To write it though, I listened to it on real player while translating and writing what he said the best I can.

    Needless to say, it was quite time consuming, so I will give you a little of the story each post at a time, please bear with me, I hope you enjoy it and I pray to God that I be successful in telling it in a fair and correct way.

    Part 1:

    Jesus was from the family of Al Omran ( the family of Omran). There is a very big part of the quran named after them called sooret Al Omran (200 verses, and about 50 pages) of the Quran. A naming of a soora In the quran is an indication of its importance and significance.

    Al omran is the last religious family from bany Israel; The descendents of Israel (the prophet Jacob).

    Omran was the grand father, his wife the grandmother was a very good person. They were dedicated to God and so God put a lot of goodness in their offsprings.

    They had 2 daughters, the older was married to a man called Zachariah (also a prophet of God) and the other daughter was much younger and her name was mariam.

    The older daughter had a son yahia also a prophet. I am not sure what he Is called in the Bible, I think John the Baptist.

    Mariam’s offspring was Jesus, with no father. All this family was dedicated to God. And for their faith, their name was glorified for all eternity in the Quran.

    Their ancestors were also prophets, Zachariah was from the line of David and Solomon.

    Omran was also from the same line.

    Nb. Mohamed PBUH was from the line of Ismail, son of Abraham. While Jesus was from the line of Isaac also the son of Abraham.

    Abraham PBUH is called the father of prophets in Islam because a lot of prophets were from his offsprings.

    In Quran , chapter of Al omran , from verse 33 starts the story, by saying that God has chosen the families of Adam, Noah, Abraham and Omran over the entire universe.


    Omran and his wife wanted so much to have a son to help do something good for God and religion. Usually people want a son or daughter to help them out or to give them joy, but al Omran were so dedicated to God, they wanted so much a son that would worship God well and help keeps God’s message alive.

    The wife of Omran started to pray so much to God for a son (even though she was quite old then) to dedicate him to God. And soon she became pregnant and thus: we see in the verse 35 I think , where she tells God that she has dedicated what is in her womb totally for Him. Here is the verse’s translation: “(remember) when the wife of Imran said “O my Lord! I have vowed to You what (the child that) is in my womb to be dedicated for Your services (free from all worldly work; to serve Your place of worship), so accept this from me. Verily, You are the All-hearer, the All-knowing”

    Anyway I really need to go now, so I will post the rest later ISA.

     
  • At 6/09/2005 1:40 AM, Blogger Dalulla said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     
  • At 6/09/2005 1:44 AM, Blogger Dalulla said…

    I not only agree with Doshar, but i also respect your mind and the fact that you want to know.

    But i agree with your friend, try to concentrate on your exams for now, as much as possible, so that you score well.

    I pray you score in as many aspects in your life as possible Kayla.

    People who sincerley search with a drive to understand and know, usually find. I am sure God will help you in your search for the truth.

    My person opinion from reading a couple of posts and your comments is you have a beautiful and tender heart. Ususlly people who have those sorts of hearts allow light to come into their lives. You are in a quest to understand, to know, to be enligtened.. I pray ISA (GOD WILLING) U find what comforts and satisfies your heart and mind.

    If i may, there is a site you might find interesting about Islam, www.harunyahya.com. You can print out books and books about so many topics regarding Islam.

    Doshar, May God reward you for your efforts.

    Kayla, Good luck in every thing.. especially your exams..

    1:40 AM, June 09, 2005

     
  • At 6/09/2005 1:55 AM, Blogger Dalulla said…

    P.S. You will find a list of all the prophets stories under "our Messengers Say" Prophet Jesus's name is written as pronounced in Arabic, as Isa. just thought i would mention that..

    Doshar, i do not mean to trespass, but i thought i might help.. That is if you both may permit it. If not, just tell me. I will respect your will.. both of you.

     
  • At 6/09/2005 1:57 AM, Blogger Dalulla said…

    main title is lives of prophets..

     
  • At 6/09/2005 10:18 AM, Blogger Alina said…

    Thank you for the story, Doshar! Actually, it's no problem if it's on the blog or email!
    Dallula, you can state your opinion about the topic if you like, I won't see it as interference. Thank you for the site and for all your explanations.
    Now for a little explanation of my own, I'm done with exams for now, only my friend still has a very important one. I postponed mine due to time issues...
    So, don't worry, I have plenty of time for this.
    I really appreciate all the help given by both of you. I want to have a clear view on religion in general, so I need to know and understand all its aspects and manifestations.

     
  • At 6/09/2005 12:47 PM, Blogger doshar said…

    hey kayla, of course it is a great idea to go on sites and read books as daalula said. there are countless i am sure.

    but i am sure you are already aware of that.

    i know though that it takes a certain amount of time and dedication. but starting by posts on the net is a good way to get started (to get in the mood )

    anyway i have great news (for me at least). i told you i was listening to the story told by someone whose methods i like. anyway i was listening and translating, leaving out the teaching parts and leaving only the story

    i discovered that it is already translated on the site!!! so i can cut and paste :)))

    (I sound like a lazy person don't I? )

    anyway here is the part 2 of the story ISA:
    i apologize i nadvance, the lecture has many teachings in it that are apart from the story. i know that you are only interseted in the story details, but i left some for 2 reasons:

    1. sometimes it is in between the lines of the story and is diffeicult to segregate

    2. forgive me, but some are really beautiful and i wished you would read it, i i felt it is such a shame to delete them sometimes. anyway, you can always skip the parts that are not relevant to what you need (although i wish you wouldn't)

    part 2:

    remember the last part, wife of Imran asked God to give her a son to help serve GOd.and then she gave birth to miryam

    When she gave birth to her she said: God, I gave birth to a female child (So she gets shocked when her dream is broken, as she wished for a boy, so she becomes depressed and thinks that her intention was not sincere) and Allah knew better what she brought forth, - and the male is not like the female, and I have named her Mariam.” (TMQ, Mariam:36) (1). Here are some nice remarks; the great wish is to be achieved after twenty years, the joy is overwhelming, the intention is to make religion triumph, but the child is a girl, not a boy, so all dreams are broken.

    As you shall see, my aim is not to tell stories, but to teach the morality behind them. You could have a very good intention, to seek Allah's satisfaction and to avoid sins. After a while, you find out that your prayer has not been answered, and your great wish hasn’t been fulfilled. In that case, don’t give up, but Allah might prepare it another way so that your prayer is answered as long as you prayed to Him sincerely, your prayer will surely be answered. This is exemplified in that woman.




    Sometimes we give up every hope, and wonder why Allah did not answer our prayer. You might say “I wanted to obey Him, but He did not want it.” Look at that woman's ambition and strong will, these are the signs of selection by Allah. She does not know despair, and she is always confident in Allah. When she was communing with Allah, saying she has given birth to a daughter, she was so depressed, but suddenly she got back her confidence in Allah, and said she was going to name her (Mariam). As she is not a boy, she wants her at least to be a worshiper of Allah, as (Mariam) in their language means (worshipper of Allah). She starts to regain her confidence in Allah, and she says what can be translated as, “I seek refuge with You (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Satan, the outcast”, (TMQ, Mariam:36) which means although she is a girl, she wishes her to beget men who devote their lives for Allah.





    This invocation, “I seek refuge with You (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Satan, the outcast” has many nice connotations; the Prophet says “Every child born is tinged by Satan”, which means that Satan gives him a touch of rancor, resulting the cry of the child, except (Mariam) and (Isa), thanks to the prayer of Imran's wife.




    You see the importance of prayer? The prayer of that woman, being sincere, was eternalized. Everyone is going to have a Satanic tinge except Mariam and her son.




    The Hadith of sexual intercourse “ The Prophet said, “If anyone of you on having sexual relations with his wife said, “In the name of Allah. O Allah! Protect us from Satan and also protect what you bestow upon us (i.e. the coming offspring) from Satan, and if it is destined that they should have a child then, Satan will never be able to harm that offspring.” Thus, one grants that the child turns out to be a believer who obeys Allah.




    The Prophet in every situation teaches us to say a certain prayer or zekr. Thus, this invocation, which the Prophet taught us, is the means by which our children can be weaned on the faith in Allah. “ So her Lord accepted her with goodly acceptance. He made her grow in a good manner “(TMQ, Al-Imran:37).

    As previously stated, she wished for a boy, but she gave birth to a girl, and Allah answered her prayer. This situation has two nice meanings:




    - First, it is as if Allah says to Imran's wife: “Who says that only men are the ones who make religion triumph? Couldn’t Al-Aqsa Mosque be liberated except by men?” It could be liberated by women as well. In order to implant this meaning in the minds of the whole nation, the birth of the girl Mariam will represent the beginning of the liberation of Al-Aqsa Mosque is going to be a girl, Mariam. Look at Islam and its respect for women, for a woman could make Islam triumph as much as men could do. Imran's wife has wished for a boy and prayed to Allah, and Allah answered her prayer, giving her a girl who is going to do what men cannot do; her child is the one who is going to make religion triumph.


    - Second, which is very nice, Allah wants to teach us that every thing comes gradually. Imran's wife wants to liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque, but this generation is not the one who can perform such a job; the hope is in the coming generation, as Mariam is going to give birth to Isa, so be patient.


    We shouldn’t be rash if our prayer wasn’t answered at once. Allah has his own ways of managing the affairs of our world, and the change should take place gradually. Imran's wife had a wish, so Allah fulfilled her wish in a better way than she had dreamt, as the grandchild is the dearest of all children.

    Thus, we can learn patience, as that was not the right time for the birth of this child nor to liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque. This girl is going to beget a prophet (Isa), one of the greatest prophets of the world, who id going to change history. Her wish is going to be fulfilled, and the grandson is the one who is going to fulfill it.


    Thus, we get to know about the wisdom of Allah. What we think to be neglect of the prayer turns out to be the answer of prayer, and to entail unimagined happiness.


    Back to Qur’anic verses and the beauty of communion with Allah. Look at what that woman says, as if she is conversing with Allah in colloquial Arabic. She says what can be translated as, “O my Lord! I have vowed to You what (the child that) is in my womb to be dedicated for Your services (free from all worldly work; to serve Your Place of worship), so accept this from me.” (TMQ, Al-Imran:35). When praying to Allah we always say, “Oh God, I ask you to do so and so”, but Mariam's mother teaches us a new way of prayer called communion, such as saying, “God, are you satisfied or not? Do you forgive me or not? If you forgive me this sin I'll do so and so…”. Can you commune with Allah in that simple way as if you were conversing with each other? It is a lovely way of worshiping Allah, because you feel as if you are asking him and he is answering you.


    By the way, I know a guy who said once when we were playing football and laughing, and unaware that I heard him, he said “God, just as you made me laugh in this world, make me laugh in the other world (Heaven).” He said it in colloquial Arabic. You see how near is he from Allah? This shows that he is close to Allah every moment in his life.


    Try to converse with Allah, and you are going to feel this closeness, that he loves you and that you are near to him. Some people perform Qiyam (night prayer), but they are not as near to Allah as you when you commune with him.


    Listen to the communion of Imran's wife in what can be translated as, “O my Lord! I have vowed to You what (the child that) is in my womb to be dedicated for Your services (free from all worldly work; to serve Your Place of worship), so accept this from me.” (TMQ, Al-Imran:35). After she gives birth, she continues her worship to Allah and her communion with Him. She says “God, I gave birth to a girl, I'm going to call her Mariam” until she says “I seek refuge with You (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Satan, the outcast”. Being very sincere, and having nothing in her intention but serving Allah, the girl grew up to be Mariam. You know how was this girl brought up? Since her first moments in life, and immediately after she was weaned, her mother took her to Al-Aqsa Mosque. As she wanted to fulfill her vow (while many of us vow but do not fulfill their vows).


    At that time, Zakariya was the Imam of the Mosque. She told him about her vow which she wants to fulfill, and she asked him to let Mariam live inside Al-Aqsa Mosque to serve it. You see how Allah selects the faithful ones who live for religion and their aim is satisfying Allah? These are the ones protected and chosen by Allah, and they are the means of guidance to others.

    So, Zakariya gathered all the Imams and the ones responsible for the Mosque. The case was a difficult one, especially as she is a girl, and there should be a mihrab (sanctuary) built specially for her where she can worship Allah. When they saw the girl's angelic face, they began to fight with each other, each wants to keep her. As mentioned in the verse that can be translated as, “You were not with them, when they cast lots with their pens as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mariam; nor were you with them when they disputed.” (TMQ, Al-Imran:44).



    Each one wanted to be her guardian, as they expected her to be a blessed child. So, every one, including Zakariya, brought his pen and threw it in the river. These were the pens used in writing the Torah. All of them ran with the tide, except Zakariya’s pen which remained still on the surface of the water. So, Zakariya became her guardian.

    Lady Mariam grew up in the custody of Zakariya who was her brother-in-law. He was mentioned seven times in the holy Qur’an, the most important of which are in Surat Al-Imran and Surat Mariam.


    The prophet (PBUH) says “Prophet Zakariya was a carpenter and he earned his living by manual work.” Why does the Prophet say so? What difference does it make for us if he was a carpenter, a blacksmith, etc… ? The Prophet (PBUH) wants to highlight an important fact - all the prophets had manual jobs; their job was not only calling to religion, but all of them earned their living by manual work. Some youth care only for calling to religion, which negatively affects their practical life. There should be a balance between working for religion and practical life, so that people would not think that being religious means failure in worldly affairs. In that Hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) says that all prophets, including Zakariya, had their own jobs; they were not idle and dependent on their societies.

    Thus, Mariam grew up in the custody of Zakariya. He noticed many wonders about her; whenever he went to her he found her praying. As Allah says what can be translated as, “Every time he entered Al-Mihrab to visit her…” (TMQ, Al-Imran:37). ; she was a true worshiper of Allah.


    Women worship Allah, pray at night and read Qur’an more frequently than men, may be because they have more spare time and they are more passionate. May our women follow in the footsteps of Lady Mariam. “And (remember) when the angels said: “O Mariam! Verily, Allah has chosen you, purified you (from polytheism and disbelief), and chosen you above the women of the ‘Alamin (mankind and jinn) (of her lifetime).” (TMQ, Al-Imran:42).

    Look at the following verse that can be translated as, “O Mary! “Submit yourself with obedience to your Lord (Allah, by worshipping none but Him Alone) and prostrate yourself, and Irka‘i (bow down) along with Ar-Raki‘un (those who bow down).” (TMQ, Al-Imran:43). This verse means that if you would like to be selected by Allah, pray for him and worship him truly. In order to make sure that you are not going to commit sins, perform your worship continuously and try to exert more effort in worship, such as prayer, night prayer, Umrah, Pilgrimage, giving alms and so on. Thus, you are selected by Allah all your life.


    Thus, Lady Mariam became the first lady of the world and she is the best woman on earth. How did she reach this status?


    Scholars have two different opinions:


    First due to her worship to Allah.
    Second due to her chastity “Mariam, the daughter of Imran, who preserved her chastity”.


    These conditions, worship and chastity, are necessary for the person to be selected by Allah . When the angel told Lady Mariam that she is going to have a boy, she said what can be translated as, “How shall I have a son when no man has touched me.” (TMQ, Al-Imran:47) then she said what can be translated as, “Would that I had died before this, and had been forgotten and out of sight!” (TMQ, Mariam:23). Her chastity takes her far away from any path which could lead to sins.



    So, we find the two traits in Lady Mariam: chastity, and worship of Allah.


    Where is Lady Mariam's chastity which made her a model to follow and the best woman in the world. As Allah says what can be translated as, “Allah has set forth an example for those who believe … Mariam, the daughter of ‘Imran who guarded her chastity.” (TMQ, At-Tahrim:11,12).


    the rest later ISA ya kayla plz be patient, i know the story hasn't even got to the part where Jesus is born yet!!

    TMQ=Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an. This translation is for the realized meaning, so far, of the stated (Surah:Ayah) of the Qur'an. Reading the translated meaning of the Qur'an can never replace reading it in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed.


    AmrKhaled.net ©This Article may be published and duplicated freely for private purposes, as long as the original source is mentioned.

     
  • At 6/09/2005 1:41 PM, Blogger Alina said…

    "the rest later ISA ya kayla plz be patient" - He, he, don't worry, take your time! I did read all of it, I actually think it's better with all the teachings (a first hand experience maybe).Thanx a lot, I realize this takes a lot of your time!

     
  • At 6/13/2005 3:30 PM, Blogger doshar said…

    hey Kayla, hope you haven’t forgotten about this post. I know you asked me a question and I am responding very slowly.

    Anyway, I have been reading your other posts. I haven’t read the Dune series though I have heard about them of course. I am glad to find another fantasy reader.

    A lot of people don’t get the fantasy thing, they say it is so unrealistic, these things can never happen, and I say that is the best thing about them, they take you to a total different world (s) where you are on a break from this one for a while.

    if you like fantasies and different worlds and stuff you will probably like the Dark Tower Series by Stephen king, it is made out of 7 books.

    Back to our original story, the story of Jesus in Islam, my original source doesn’t have the rest of the story, so I am gonna put parts of a book I have called Islam in focus. You will realize of course that the narrative style is different.

    Some verses of Quran are translated here, and in them are the main narrations of the story. I hope u Enjoy it.

    Here we go, In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful:

    Before anything can be said, three points must be made clear. First, a Muslim is quite
    at ease as far as the attitude of Islam towards Jesus is concerned; his mind is settled,
    his conscience is clear, and his belief is sound. Secondly, a Muslim’ s concept of God,
    religion, prophethood, revelation and humanity makes him accept Jesus not only as a
    historical fact but also as one of the most distinguished apostles of God. It should be
    remembered here that acceptance of Jesus by Muslims is a fundamental article of
    Faith in Islam, and that a Muslim can never think of Jesus in any derogatory terms. A
    Muslim is happily denied the liberty of defaming Jesus or any other prophet of God


    Thirdly, whatever will be mentioned here is what the Qur’ an says and teaches.
    Although very unpopular among the Christians, the Islamic beliefs about Jesus do not
    intend in any way to belittle his role or underestimate his character or degrade his
    great personality. On the contrary, these Islamic beliefs depict Jesus in a most
    respectable manner and place him as high in status as God Himself has placed him. In
    fact, the Muslim is more respectful of Jesus than many Christians. But the attitude of
    Islam should not be misunderstood. It must not be interpreted as appeasing or
    flattering or compromising. It is to be taken as the truth in which the Muslim
    unshakably believes and will continue to believe. It is the truth of yesterday, the truth
    of today, and the truth of tomorrow


    The environment in which Jesus was born and raised deserves some attention. The
    people to whom he was sent had peculiar characteristics, among which were:

    (I) that they interpolated and misinterpreted the Scriptures of God in meaning and
    word alike;
    (ii) that they rejected some of their prophets, including Jesus, and killed
    some; and
    (iii) that they were outspoken and irresponsible as regards their wealth. The
    Qur’ an says :

    Is it that whenever there comes to you ( children of Israel) an apostle with what you
    desire not, you are puffed up with pride? Some you called impostors, and other you
    slay! (2:87)

    God has heard the taunt of those who say: ‘Truly, God is indigent and we are rich!’
    We shall certainly record their word and (their act) of slaying the prophets in defiance
    of right, and We shall say: ‘ Taste you the penalty of the Scorching Fire!’ (3:181)

    God did aforetime take a Covenant from the Children of Israel. But because of their
    breach of their Covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard: They
    change the words from their (right) places and forget a good part of the Message that
    was sent them (5:13-14)

    This was the second nature of the people to whom Jesus was sent.

    Be that as it may, the more important question to the Muslim is how Jesus was born.
    Up to the time of Jesus three kinds of creation had been experienced, in each of which
    the power, the knowledge and the wisdom of God the Creator were clearly
    demonstrated. First, there was human being created without the physical interference
    or presence of any known human father or mother, and that was Adam. Secondly,
    there was a human being created without the physical existence or the precedence of
    any known mother or female ancestor, and that was Eve. She was anticipated by
    Adam who might be thought of as the symbolic or figurative father of mankind.
    Thirdly, there were millions of people created through the normal intimacy of fathers
    and mothers. Curious and inquiring minds might have pondered on the possibility of
    the fourth kind of creation, namely, the creation of a human being without the
    physical interference of any human father. This possibility seems to have been
    translated into reality by God in the creation of Jesus to, perhaps, complete the four
    possible kinds of creation, and to illustrate the power of the Creator in every possible
    shape and form. The birth of Jesus to the pious Mary was a miraculous action, an act
    of the will of God. The choice of this kind of creation at that particular time may be as
    much intelligible as it is interesting. It seems that medicine was quite popular in one
    way or another, in one region or another. The contemporaries of Jesus swerved so far
    from the Path of God and were also stubborn. God showed them His power in a new
    form of creation. He showed them that His power is infinite, and that their salvation
    would come about only by submission to Him and belief in Him. The illustration was
    presented in the vivid manifestation of the creation of Jesus. This, perhaps, was also
    an anticipation of the kind of miracles which Jesus was to perform later on with the
    help of God, the miracles which were more or less of a medical nature

    It should be pointed out that this hypothetical interpretation of the birth of Jesus is not
    based on the authority of the Qur’ an or the Traditions of Muhammad. These four
    logically possible forms of creation and the induction that the birth of Jesus
    constitutes the fourth and final form are the personal views of the writer and his own
    hypothesis. This personal view has no bearing whatsoever on the authority or
    genuineness of the Qur’ an and the Traditions of Muhammad. Whether this hypothesis
    about the four kinds of creation is valid or not, it does not in any way affect the
    Muslim’ s belief in the truth of the Qur’ an and its statement about the birth of Jesus
    being the miraculous will and work of God. At any rate, the whole point is worth
    pursuing

    The Qur’ an reveals the birth of Jesus in the following manner:


    And relate (O Muhammad) in the Book (the story of) Mary, when she withdrew from
    her family to a place in the East. She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them;
    then We sent to her our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. She
    said: ‘I seek refuge from you to (God) Most Gracious: (come not near) if you do fear
    God. ‘ He said:’ Nay, I am only a messenger from your Lord, (To announce) to you
    the gift of a pure growing son.’ She said:’ How shall I have a son, seeing that no man
    has touched me, and I am not unchaste?’ He said:’ So (it will be): your Lord said:
    That is easy for Me, and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy
    from Us. It is a matter so decreed’ . So she conceived him, and she retired with him to
    a remote place. And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: She
    cried (in her anguish ): ‘ Ah! how I wish I had died before this! how I wish I had been
    a thing forgotten or out of sight!’ But a voice cried to her from beneath the palm-tree:’
    Grieve not! for your Lord has provided a rivulet beneath you; and shake towards
    yourself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon you. So eat and
    drink and cool (your) eye (be happy). And if you do see any man, say: ‘I have vowed
    a fast to (God) Most Gracious, and this day will I enter into no talk with any human
    being.’ At length she brought him to her people carrying him (in her arms). They said:
    ‘O Mary! truly an amazing thing you have brought! O sister of Aaron! your father
    was not a man of evil, nor your mother was a woman unchaste!’ But she pointed to
    him. They said: ‘How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle? He said:’ I am
    indeed a servant of God: He has given me revelation and made me a prophet; and He
    has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and (He) has enjoined on me prayer and
    charity as long as I live; and (He) has made me kind to my mother, and not
    overbearing or miserable; so peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and
    the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)!’ Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary. (It
    is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute. It is not befitting to (the
    Majesty) of God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When he determines a
    matter, He only says to it: ‘Be’ ; and it is. Verily God is my Lord and your Lord: Him
    therefore serve you: this is a Way that is straight.(19:16-36; cf.3:42-64; 4:171-172;
    5:17, 72-75; 25:2, 43:57-65)



    this is the part of Jesus’ birth. The rest later ISA

     
  • At 6/13/2005 3:45 PM, Blogger Alina said…

    Thanx, Doshar! I hadn't forgotten about the post! Will wait for the rest, whenever you have the time...:))

     
  • At 6/13/2005 11:15 PM, Blogger doshar said…

    hey kayla, did u read the Da Vinci Code by any chance?

    i am reading it now, i am mid way, but i was a bit confused. this is a work of fiction but obviously alot of the things stated are true,

    i was wondering actually about how much of it was facts that the outhor researched and used for his book and how much was fiction.

    anyways, i got to a part where there is a historian actually saying that alot of the general belief about Jesus was founded on basis of a meeting or vote about 400 years after christ?

    needless to say, it was quite intriguing to me.

    the fact that i don't know what is fact from fiction is driving me crazy of course, because i don't know the christian history from christians point of view very well.

    if you have read the book, maybe you can help me with that. (later when i finish it :) )

     
  • At 6/14/2005 10:28 AM, Blogger Alina said…

    I did read the book, Doshar. Most of it is fiction...A true Christian would dismiss the book on sight, actually...There's a strong Catholic Church campaign (also involving Vatican) against this book because it is said to have a great influence on people, teenagers especially.

    What Dan Brown did was to take a theory about the Bible and use parts of it that he needed for the novel's plot, mainly the part about Christ being married to Mary Magdalene.

    If you want book containing all research and conclusions in the field, I recommend this post of mine http://wordsofabrokenmirror.blogspot.com/2005/04/thank-you-medsana.html#comments - you will find the link to the book there.

    About the meeting...Well, they did choose a small number of writings to put in the Bible and they dismissed the others..

     
  • At 6/18/2005 1:02 PM, Blogger doshar said…

    Thanx so much for the feedback on the book. It is good to be enlightenend

    Btw, I read your comment on haal’s blog. I am glad you want to read about Prophet Mohamed. Again, if you need to ask anything of me, plz do and I will do what I can ISA.

    I am happy that u caught the essence of the hadith. It can be confusing maybe to someone who doesn’t know anything else about the Prophet PBUH. Allow me to elaborate on it though,

    The hadith says:

    'Three things have been made beloved to me in this world of yours: women, perfume and prayer. As for prayers, it is my essence, الصلاة قرة عينى. Or in other translation, 'I found solace in prayer.' Nasa'i, XXXVI:1

    it must be clear that this hadith emphasizes on how little this world means to the prophet PBUH. Note he said “this world of yours” as if it is not his own. There is this world that we live in now and the life after. In quran, God repeatedly tells us how it is that this world is not important in comparison to the life after. This world is but an exam for us to see who does better deeds.

    What has become beloved to the prophet in THIS world, is very little, because his main concern is for the life after and the love of God.
    That is why, only these things were beloved to him. He had no desires for wealth, fame or power like many other humans do.

    For someone who reads this hadith and does not put in consideration the life after, it might appear that these were the most cherished things to him period, which is of course not true.

    Secondly,
    The three things,

    Women:
    It has to be stated that his love of women were mainly for his wives and daughters in particular, in apreciation of their love and care and good companion ship, and as a praise for women in general.

    You have to understand how women were treated in that area before Islam, they were given no rights worth mentioning,they were regarded as objects of pleasure only, and when someone has a daughter, they feel so ashamed that some of them would bury the girl alive!!!

    So, Islam taught people to apreciate women and love them for their great roles in life. (btw, the Prophet PBUH had 4 daughters whom he loved very dearly).
    So this is honoring to women everywhere. There are other ahadith about women where the Prophet PBUH speaks about women in the fondest of tones. In the last time he talked to the muslims in his sickness before his death, he told the muslims 3 times what means to be good to the women.
    Also there is another hadith where the prophet PBUH tells someone to be gentle with women , using the metaphor “the glass vessels” (referring to women as gentle and fragile).


    Secondly, the perfumes:
    Islam has in its teachings a great emphasis on personal cleansiness and hygiene. It is recommeneded that men should wear perfume especially when going to prayer so as to always smell good and not to offend someone else with bad body odour. It is not intended for the attraction of the opposite sex, like we do now. A woman is encouraged also to wear perfume in her house and with her husband to also smell good.

    Thirdly , the prayer;
    He mentioned three things and finally saying that is prayer is where he finds his solace and peace. The statement speaks for itself.

    I have to note though, that the above interpretation to the hadith is my own, based on what I know of the Prophet PBUH and his teachings, and is not from an authorized source. I looked for a scholar’s interpretation on the net , but I couldn’t find any. I hope I had not messed up. If I did, I ask God for his forgiveness.

     
  • At 6/20/2005 10:50 AM, Blogger Alina said…

    Doshar, I am sure the interpretation of the hadith is perfect! Thank you for it!
    The part with the perfume triggered me because I have this - let's call it ability - to identify persons with their perfume. I sometimes know a colleague came to work by just sensing the perfume.
    The part about women and prayer I thought was lovely and as I said on Haal's blog it reminded me about old beliefs according to which loving your wife (spiritually and physically) was a feeling that would bring you closer to God. Love was seen as a gift made to humans, probably - this is a personal interpretation - to help them practice the love for God. If you cannot love your life companion in every little detail, how will you learn to love God and accept all His decisions?
    I'm glad you found my info about the book useful! If you want to know more about other books, just ask, maybe I read them...:)

     
  • At 6/25/2005 12:29 PM, Blogger doshar said…

    hi kayla, i have finally come to give you the rest of the story of jesus in islam. sorry for the long delay, here it goes

    The mission which God entrusted to Jesus was not salvation through total atonement
    by blood sacrifice, but salvation by virtue of right guidance and self-discipline, by
    quickening the stagnant minds and softening the hard souls. It was to install the true
    religion of God and restore His revelations which had been misinterpreted and
    abused. In approaching those stagnant minds and hard souls, Jesus not only preached
    the word of God but also brought tangible Signs and performed “Miracles” in support
    of his mission. Logical and spiritual as well as “ supernatural” and extraordinary
    proofs were provided by God at the hands of Jesus to show those hard-hearted people
    the true path of god. Relating the mission of Jesus and the “miraculous” nature of his
    proofs, the Qur’ an says:
    Behold! the angles said: ‘O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him:
    his name is the Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the
    Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to God; he shall speak to the people
    in childhood and in maturity. And he shall be (of the company) of the righteous’ .
    ‘And God will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Law (Torah) and the Gospel, and
    (appoint him) an apostle to the children of Isral, (with this message): ‘ I have come to
    you, with a Sign from you Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the
    figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God’ s leave: and I heal
    those born blind and the lepers, and I quicken the dead by God’ s leave; and I declare
    to you what you eat and what you store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for
    you if you did believe: (I have come to you), to attest the Law (Torah) which was
    before me, and to make lawful to you part of what was (before) forbidden to you. I
    have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear God’ s displeasure and obey
    me. It is God Who is my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is a Way that is
    straight (3:45-51)
    Then will God say: ‘O Jesus the son of Mary! recount My favor to you and to your
    mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the holy spirit, so that you did speak to the
    people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the
    Law and the Gospel. And behold: you make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a
    bird, by My leave, and you breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by My leave, and you
    heal those born blind, and the lepers by My leave. And behold! you bring forth the
    dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the children of Israel from (violence to
    you )when you did show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said:
    ‘This is nothing but evident magic.’ And behold! God will say: ‘O Jesus the son of
    Mary! did you say unto men, ‘worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of
    God? ‘He will say: ‘Glory to You! never could I say what I have no right (to say) …
    Never said I to them aught except what You did command me to say, to wit, ‘
    Worship God my Lord and your Lord; ‘ and I was a witness over them while I dwelt
    amongst them; when You did take me up You were the Watcher over them, and You
    are a Witness to all things (5:110-117)
    These verses are only representative of numerous similar ones throughout the Qur’ an.
    They all emphasize the fact that Jesus never claimed to be a god or the son of God,
    and that he was only the servant and apostle of the Lord in the pattern of those before
    him. The Qur’ an stresses this fact in the following way:
    And in their (the prophets’ ) footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming the
    Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and
    light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an
    admonition to those who fear God’ s displeasure (5:46)
    They do blaspheme who say: ‘God is Christ the son of Mary.’ But Christ said: ‘O
    children of Israel! worship God my Lord and your Lord. Whoever joins other gods
    with God, - God will forbid him the Garden, and the Fire will be his abode: There will
    for wrong-doers be no one to help’ They do blaspheme who say: ‘God is one of three
    in a Trinity:’ for there is no god except one God. If they desist not from their word (
    of blasphemy), verily, a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them.
    Why turn they not to God, and seek His forgiveness? For God is Most Forgiving,
    Most Merciful, Christ the son of Mary was no more than an apostle; many were the
    apostles that passed away before him. His mother was woman of truth. They had both
    to eat their (daily) food. See how God does make His Signs clear to them; yet see in
    what ways they are deluded away from the truth! … Say: ‘O People of the Book!
    exceed not in you religion the bounds (of what is proper), trespassing beyond the
    truth. Nor follow the vain desires of people who went wrong in times gone by, who
    misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the even Way (5:72-75; cf. 4:171-172)

     
  • At 6/25/2005 12:39 PM, Blogger doshar said…

    here is the rest, it talks about the crucification mostly. i don't know wether you are aware or not that muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified. the explaination here is also from the book i told you about. to be honest, i don't know much about the details of the crucification story except the fundamental facts showing that he was not crucified. so some of his discussions (for ex. about the romans role then)i am not very knoledgable about. i trust you are. most of what i know myself is from what we know from quran.

    The beginning of Jesus was controversial. So was his end. In between he was
    persistent in carrying out his mission, strengthened by the Book of God, by wisdom,
    by the Clear Signs and by the holy spirit. Yet very few were those who accepted him
    whole-heartedly. Although tolerant and peace-minded, Jesus could not tolerate the
    hypocrisy of the children of Israel and their devotion to the letter of the Law at the
    expense of its spirit. He was rejected and opposed by them, and they plotted to kill
    him. It was customary among them to reject some of their prophets and kill some.
    Jesus was no exception to this rule. In fact they believed that they did crucify him.
    The story was climaxed and dramatized at this stage, and religious mournings became
    sacred for the Christians as was wailing for the Jews


    A plot was planned to crucify Jesus; an actual execution on the cross took place;
    someone was really crucified. But it was not Jesus; it was someone else who was
    crucified in his place
    As for Jesus himself, God came to his rescue and saved him from the enemies. God
    crowned his mission on the earth by saving him from violent death and raising him up
    high to Heaven. Whether he was raised in rank by means of excellence or whether he
    was raised alive in soul and body or in soul only after he died a natural death has not
    much bearing on the Islamic beliefs. It is no article of Faith, because what is
    important and binding to a Muslim is what God reveals; and God revealed that Jesus
    was not crucified but was raised to Him. The Qur’ an related the end of Jesus as
    follows:

    The people of the Book ask you (Muhammad ) to cause a book to descend to them
    from Heaven: indeed they asked Moses for an even greater (miracle), for they said:
    ‘Show us God in public’ . But they were dazed, for their presumption, with a thunder
    and lightning. Yet they worshipped the Calf even after Clear Signs had come to them;
    even so We forgave them; and gave Moses manifest proofs of authority. And for their
    Covenant We raised over them (the towering height ) of Mount (Sinai); and (on
    another occasion) We said: ‘Enter the gate with humility’ ; and (once again) We
    commanded them: ‘Transgress not in the matter of Sabbath’ . And We took from them
    a solemn Covenant. (They have incurred divine displeasure); in that they broke their
    Covenant; that they rejected the Signs of God; that they slew the Messengers in
    defiance of right; that they said:’ Our hearts are the wrappings (which preserve God’ s
    Word; we need no more)’ ; nay God has set the seal in their hearts for their blasphemy,
    and little is it they believe; that they rejected Faith; that they uttered against Mary a
    grave false charge; that they said (in boast the dersion): ‘We killed Christ Jesus the
    son of Mary, the apostle of God.’ But they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it
    was made to appear to them. And those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no
    (certain) knowledge except only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him
    not. Nay, God raised him up to Himself; and God is Exalted in Power, Wise (4:153-
    158; cf:3:52-59)

    Islam rejects the doctrine of the Crucifixion of Jesus by the enemies of God and also
    the foundations of that doctrine. This rejection is based on the authority of God
    Himself as revealed in the Qur’ an, and on a deeper rejection of blood sacrifice and
    vicarious atonement for sins. Islam teaches that the First Sin of Adam was forgiven
    after he himself had made the atonement; that every sinner, if not forgiven by God,
    will himself be accountable for his sins; and that no one can make atonement for the
    sins of another. This makes no room for the entertainment of the doctrine of Blood
    Sacrifice or atonement on another person’ s behalf. However, some of the early
    Christian sects did not believe that Jesus was killed on the Cross. The Bacilidans
    believed that someone else was crucified in his place. The Docetae held that Jesus
    never had a real physical or natural body, but only an apparent body, and that his
    cricifixion was apparent, not real. The Marcionite Gospel (about 138 A.D.) denied
    that Jesus was born, and merely said that he appeared in human form. The Gospel of
    Saint Barnabas – of which there is an English translation in the State Library of
    Vienna and an Arabic version in the Arab world-supports the theory of substitution on
    the Cross

    As regards the end of Jesus, the Muslim is quite at ease as he is with regard to his
    beginning. The Muslim believes that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, but God
    raised him up to Himself in honor and grace. The mind of the Muslim is clear as far as
    the whole matter is concerned. The Qur’ an has settled the disputes for him once and
    for all. The belief that Jesus was crucified raises a number of unavoidable inquiries.
    Some of these may be presented here

    1. Does the crucifixion of Jesus as conceived by the Christian churches befit the
    Justice, the Mercy, the Power, and the Wisdom of God?
    2. Is it just on God’ s part, or anybody’ s part for that matter, to make someone repent
    for the sins or wrongs of others, the sins to which the repenter is no party?
    3. Is it consistent with God’ s Mercy and Wisdom to believe that Jesus was humiliated
    and murdered the way he is said to have been?
    4. Is it a fulfillment of God’ s promise ( to defend His allies and protect His beloved
    ones) that Jesus was so deserted that he became an easy prey to God’ s enemies? Is
    this to be taken as a way of fulfilling one’ s obligations or as a precedence in honoring
    one’ s word?
    5. Is it justifiable and proper to believe that God, the Most Forgiving, was unable to
    forgive Adam and his children for the Original Sin, and that He held them in suspense
    or bewilderment until Jesus came to make the atonement with his own blood?
    6. Does the belief of crucifixion and blood sacrifice appear in any religion apart from
    the pagan creeds of the early Greeks, Romans, Indians, Persians, and the like?
    7. Is there any parallel to Jesus in human history besides the fictitious figures of
    Bacchus, Apollo, Adonis, Horus and other Virgin-born gods?
    8. Does it not give new insight to compare the words attributed to Jesus with those of
    Bacchus, who said that he was the Alpha and Omega of the world, and had came to
    redeem humanity by his blood? Could the similarity of these words to those ascribed
    to Jesus in later years stimulate a new zeal to search for the whole truth of the matter?
    9. What did the Roman authorities have against Jesus? He was no threat to their
    control. In fact he did many favors for their leading personalities and their
    households. He taught his followers to render unto Caesar what belonged to Caesar
    and unto God what belonged to God. He was a peaceful preacher and a great help to
    the Roman authorities in keeping law and order in the land. Why then would they
    crucify him and lose such a good law-abiding citizen and supporter?
    10. How much is known about the character of the Roman Governor, Pilate? Was he
    on good terms with the contemporary Jews who appealed to Rome against him? Was
    his rule in Judaea not expressive of his hatred and contempt of them? Was he not
    vulnerable to bribes? Why then would he hasten to do their will or implement their
    order? Why would he not accept the bribe of a rich admirer of Jesus such as Joseph of
    Armathaea? This Joseph, according to Luke, was wealthy and very interested in Jesus,
    and was a counselor who did not consent to the counsel in the decision to refer Jesus
    for crucifixion. Could he not have tried, even by bribing the corruptible governor, to
    save Jesus from crucifixion after he had failed to do so in the council chamber?
    11. How many disciples did actually witness the alleged crucifixion of Jesus, and
    what were their reactions? Can it be true what Matthew says (26:56) that all the
    disciples forsook Him and fled? Is this the criterion of the integrity and character of
    such great disciples of a great teacher? Only the beloved John is reported to have been
    present at the scene. But how long was he present and how long did it take the
    condemmed person to die on the cross in those days? According to some reliable
    historical sources (see the article on the Cross, The Chambers’ Encyclopedia, 1950), it
    usually took a few days for the condemned to die on the cross. But why was it only a
    few hours, not the usual few days, in the case of Jesus? And why did he “ die” on the
    cross while his two other companions survived him? What about the darkness which
    overshadowed all the land for three hours of the crucifixion period (Matthew, 27:45;
    Mark, 15:33; Luke, 23:44); Could a replacement or substitution have taken place on
    the cross under the purple robe during that period of darkness and confusion?

    12. How familiar with Jesus were those Roman soldiers who came to take him to
    cross? How certain were they that it was the right person they took to the scene? Did
    they really recognize him when they went to arrest him? Did they have any particular
    interest or urge to identify Jesus at that time when public festivities were taking place
    and fear of public outburst was imminent?
    13. Can a believer imagine that Jesus (who was one of the five most determined and
    persistent messengers of God) would speak to God from the cross in the manner he is
    said to have spoken, in a tone of reproach or at best of anxiety? Is it proper for a
    distinguished prophet like Jesus to say to God at a trying time that God has forsaken
    him? Is that to be taken as a pattern or precedence in addressing God or in reacting to
    the trying experiences?
    14. Was God the Most Merciful, the Most Forgiving and the Most High unable to
    forgive men’ s sins except by inflicting this cruel and most humiliating alleged
    crucifixion on one who was not only innocent but also dedicated to His service and
    cause in a most remarkable way? Is this the application of God’ s mercy and
    forgiveness or the reflection of His justice and love?

    A study of the surrounding circumstances of the time, the behavior of the mundane
    authorities, the public reactions, the concept of God, the status of man, the purpose of
    religion and the life – a study of these can provoke interesting thoughts similar to the
    ones I have mentioned. Until a satisfactory explanation of such inquiries is found, the
    believer cannot be at ease, nor can he enjoy any true peace of mind. So it may be
    advisable for all parties concerned to make a serious study of the matter and embark
    on a deeper course of investigation

    However, as far as the Muslims are concerned, such inquiries never arise, and such
    perplexities are irrelevant, for Islam stands firm in maintaining that Jesus was not
    crucified or killed, but was honored and raised to God Himself. It is reported in
    Christian Literature that Jesus appeared, after crucifixion, to some disciples. His
    appearance is quite probable and conflicts in no way with the Islamic beliefs. If it was
    true that he appeared, the Muslim would believe that this appearance was not after
    death on the Cross but after the asylum; which he had taken by the order of God as a
    step in God’ s plan to save him and counteract the vicious conspiracy of the enemies.
    Instead of being crucified and humiliated as had been planned by the enemy, he was
    more exalted in rank and more honored as had been counter-planned by God

    The greatness of Jesus and the distinction of his role do not, according to the
    Muslims, emanate from the Christian belief that he was cold-bloodedly crucified
    because of his teachings and to atone for man’ s sins. If this popular belief is valid, one
    might be tempted to say that the sacrifice of Jesus for atonement was in vain because
    sin has not been eliminated. Or one may even say that there are thousands of great
    heroes, like Jesus, who died in promotion of their causes, worthy and otherwise.
    These can be found everywhere, among the Germans, the Allies, the Communists, the
    officials of the United Nations Organization, the religious warriors, the freedom
    fighters, etc. So if this violent death is going to deify the dead, humanity must have
    countless gods and deities, and it would be arbitrary on anybody’ s part to confine
    such deity to Jesus alone, disregarding the other heroes who died in similar situations
    Again, the Muslim does not face such a paradox. He believes that the greatness of
    Jesus arises from the fact that he was chosen by God and honored with His word; that
    he was entrusted with the revelations of God and commissioned to teach His message;
    that he was a prophet of character and personality; that he was sincere inwardly and
    outwardly; that he fought hypocrisy and blasphemy; that he was distinguished in the
    beginning at the time of his birth and in the end at the time of his ascension; and that
    he was a Sign to the people and a mercy from God. Peace be on him and his fellow
    prophets

    The nature of this survey does not permit us to deal thoroughly with the statements of
    the Qur’ an on Jesus and his mission. What has been given here is only the
    fundamental part. For further study and investigation the reader may be referred to the
    Qur’ an itself. To facilitate the references, a table showing the relevant chapters and
    verses in the Qur’ an is here presented
    CHAPTER NUMBER VERSE NUMBER
    2 87,136,253
    3 42-59,84
    4 156-159, 171-172
    5 17,46,72,75,78,110-118
    6 85
    9 30-31
    19 1-40
    23 50
    33 7
    42 13
    43 57-65
    57 27
    61 6,14

     
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